Occaso
by ShaD.23
Summary: Finale to GSG Trilogy. 7 years later, all except Loretta and Claes are dead, Adam returns to Italy, and the SWA meets their most heinous opponent yet. Rated for language and content.
1. Prologue

I will say it now. This will not be a happy story. This will not be cheerful or light hearted. This is my idea of how things could go for the Agency and those involved with it. Whether the end is happy or not, not even I know, but if you choose not to read, I will understand.

* * *

Loretta slowly ascended a hill on the grounds of the agency... the hill where the tree she and Rico used to play under once stood.

"_Officially, the Social Welfare Agency is a government sponsored agency in the business of saving lives... that's nothing more than a ruse from where I'm standing..."_

Loretta stood before five headstones and gripped the bouquet she brought with her.

"Hey, guys..."she said quietly. She placed a rose on Angelica's grave, one on Beatrice's grave...

"_In reality, it's a government agency on the fringe of technology... I've seen these girls kill without remorse, without fear, and without hesitation... perhaps there's a special pit in Hell waiting for all of us after what we've done..."_

One on Henrietta's grave, one on Rico's grave...

"_Henrietta was like a sister to me... I shouldn't have let myself grow attached to her, knowing what her ultimate fate would be... and now I've allowed myself to grow attached once more..."_

Loretta placed the final rose on Triela's grave and turned to leave.

"_There seems no end to heartache here, at the agency. Once an intelligence agency working throughout Italy, now we're an anti-terrorist organization working throughout all of Europe and Asia... how things change..."_

"_I miss my friends... all of them... I've seen so many come and more leave... Now my friends from now... Claes, Rowena, Opal, Christian, Christopher... I don't want to see you all go..."_

Loretta silently passed Jose in the hallway as she proceeded to her dormitory. She opened the door to see Claes sitting alone with an open book, sunlight glistening off the braces on her legs.

"Hey there."she greeted quietly, as usual. Loretta nodded to her friend and climbed onto her top bunk, holding one of her teddy bears close to her.

"_She's more like an agent than a cyborg, now... and who's to say she hasn't earned it? She's seen far more Hell than any of the cyborgs... and bloodied her hands more than any of the agents. She's broken, but she's progressed so much that we couldn't possibly fix her... Not without possibly killing her... we truly are damned..."_

"_Rico told me once that she loved being able to wake up and move... I don't know if I ever want to wake up... not if this is my life..."_

The pain and sorrow of the Social Welfare Agency had reached such a peak, agony oozed from every crack in the now broken lives of all it's workers and cyborgs... if they deserved to go to Hell, Hell had come there long before and been there ever since... or, at least, it would now...

* * *

Here's the end of the prologue. I will say that it was kinda hard to write about all the girls dying off, save for Loretta and Claes (who, as we can all tell, is in bad shape), but it's the end that really gets me. I won't spoil it (obviously), but I will say, I have finished this story. All I need to do is type and submit. I hope those of you who do choose to read it keep with me until the end.


	2. The Sound of Silence

**_CHAPTER 1_: _The Sound of Silence_**

The steady tapping of a cane made no disturbance in the afternoon jostle as Jean limped slowly through the streets of Rome. His hair long and scraggly, a twisting and untidy beard upon his face, he bore no resemmblance to the man who once worked for the Social Welfare Agency. Turning to look and see if anyone was following him, he hobbled further, his tapping cane meshing with the chatter and bustle of the city. He didn't want to be there. He should be there. Yet, there he was, waiting for the man he despised more than any other. Narrowing his eyes in anger, he watched as Jose slung his leg from his motorcycle. His brother, the head of the Social Welfare Agency.

"Hello darkness, my old friend..." Jean mumbled. Jose walked slowly toward his brother, a complacent look on his face. Jean could never tell what his brother was feeling these days, nor could Jose.

"Jean... how are you?" Jose said calmly, a slight smile on his face. He held his hand toward his brother, but Jean did not take it. Jose, at this, frowned. "You reek of alcohol, Jean."

"What of it?" Jose looked into his brother's glaring eyes. He had descended into alcoholism since what happened all those years ago.

"Well, you are my brother, so I DO care about you, Jean-"

"Shut up! Don't give me that family bullshit!" Jose narrowed his eyes. He wasn't at all surprised by this. "Why do you keep making me go through this, Jose? Why do you keep bringing me out here for this?"

"Because you're my brother and I love you, Jean!" Jose turned quickly to face his apathetic sibling. He had had enough. For more than five years, Jose had been trying to reconnect with his brother to no avail, and he had all but given up at this point. "Why do you despise me so much, Jean?"

"Because of what you are!" the elder brother spat. "You're a murderer! You slay children!" Jose shook his head in dismay.

"I thought you said these 'children' were nothing more than tools of the trade." At this Jean glared. What Jose said was true. Jean never cared about them. It wasn't until Rico died that he began to feel the strain he now felt.

"Well..." Jean turned as if to leave. "What does it matter?"

"It matters because this isn't you. You're not the man who you were when you lead us, Jean. You're not-"

"SHUT UP!" Jean growled angrily. "Hilshire died because of me... that's not something I can just forget..."

"But it didn't have to be that way, and you know it... you ran into the fire fight... you wanted to get shot... Hilshire and the others just didn't know... he tried to save you..."

"Would you shut the fuck up!" Jose looked into Jean's eyes. They were full of tears. Watching his brother turn and run his hands through his messy beard, Jose sighed and turned. "Claes isn't doing good..."

"What of it?" Jean said. "I don't care what happens in that abattoir..."

"Really?" Jose sneered. "Not even to me?

"Who are you to me? Another glorified murderer. I don't care and I never have..."

"Never have? Then why did you cry for Rico when she died?"

The look on Jean's face was pure hatred. Huffing, he pulled a cigarette and slipped it in his mouth, lighting it quickly. Taking a puff, he hobbled off once more, grumbling.

"Go slay your children... you get paid enough, you don't need to worry..." Jose stood there, feeling saddened by his meeting with his brother. He seemed as if he had gone mad since his time at the Social Welfare Agency. Hanging his head, Jose fought to say the words he always fought to say whenever he met with his brother.

"I love you, Jean!" he called as his brother went on down the road. Turning, Jose went back to his motorcycle... back to the horrors of the Social Welfare Agency.

* * *

Adam watched the passing trees and fields from his train. He was the only one on board. It had been some time since he left the Guild, and no matter how hard he tried, he knew his place was in the line of duty, no matter where it was. The Social Welfare Agency was the only place he had to turn to. As the train came into Rome, he looked about the decay and filth. It was exactly as it looked seven years ago.

"I suppose everywhere has become a city of devils nowadays..."

* * *

A short chapter, I'll admit, but I felt it should stand alone. Jean's changes are noticeably vast.


End file.
